Windows walls under Linux

[Walen]

I have read http://angband.oook.cz/forum/showthread.php?t=88 and http://angband.oook.cz/forum/showthread.php?t=4737. Still have no clue how to make solid blocks instead of # signs. I understand linux machines must be compatible with 1500 B.C. terminals but now we have 2012 A.D. and multicore processors FFS. Surely an avarage laptop can calculate a few additional pixels of ASCII gfx to display full blocks, not some retro-even-among-nerds-#s Or can't it?

Seriously, how do you set a font that can display solid blocks and why is it not a default in non-win environments?

[Nick]

I thought it was default. Which front end?

[Derakon]

Seriously, how do you set a font that can display solid blocks and why is it not a default in non-win environments?

It's not a default because some of us like our # walls.

In other words, it's not a matter of capability but of inclination.

[Walen]

I am toying with Gentoo right now but had similar experience with previous versions of Angband on different distributions a few years back. I am still relatively new to setting up the system all by myself so some step by step instructions on changing font to one that contains block symbol would be nice.

BTW I always thought that if windows and linux ports are compiled from the same source they should look the same. Yet there are some small differences in menu layout and such. But again noone said windows -> non-windows transition has to be pixel by pixel carbon copy.

[Nick]

So, you are playing the version that either came with Gentoo, or you have installed from a package? What version is it that you have? You can find out either from the title screen, or from the command 'V'.

In any case, the easiest way to change the wall (or any) character is '~' for knowledge, then choose 'e' feature knowledge, choose the terrain feature you want to change, and then 'v' for visuals. You will then get a way of choosing; it is version dependent, but I'd advise having a play with it and seeing if it makes sense. One small trick - there are three different types of lighting for terrain, and you will need to change them all.

To use these setting in the future, go '=' for the options menu and then 'v' for visuals, and then dump the features to a pref file.

See how you go, and ask again if you need more help. It is kind of intricate.

[Magnate]

So, you are playing the version that either came with Gentoo, or you have installed from a package? What version is it that you have? You can find out either from the title screen, or from the command 'V'.

In any case, the easiest way to change the wall (or any) character is '~' for knowledge, then choose 'e' feature knowledge, choose the terrain feature you want to change, and then 'v' for visuals. You will then get a way of choosing; it is version dependent, but I'd advise having a play with it and seeing if it makes sense. One small trick - there are three different types of lighting for terrain, and you will need to change them all.

To use these setting in the future, go '=' for the options menu and then 'v' for visuals, and then dump the features to a pref file.

See how you go, and ask again if you need more help. It is kind of intricate.

It is non-trivial - but solid walls are the default in modern versions, providing they're supported by the terminal. So I'm kind of surprised that the OP is using a version which doesn't show them by default.

@OP: as well as telling us which version you're playing and where you downloaded it, please also tell us which display module you're using. That means telling us the exact command line you use to start the game. (If you start the game by clicking an icon, please right-click the icon, inspect its properties and tell us what the start command is.)

[Derakon]

BTW I always thought that if windows and linux ports are compiled from the same source they should look the same. Yet there are some small differences in menu layout and such. But again noone said windows -> non-windows transition has to be pixel by pixel carbon copy.

They aren't compiled from exactly the same source -- each Angband port has a different front-end to handle communication with the OS, which includes things like input handling, windowing, and display.

Nowadays there are libraries that basically handle that for you, so you can get the same UI on different platforms without having to rewrite a bunch of code, but those libraries didn't exist when Angband was first written 22 years ago, nor when it was overhauled ~14 years ago...

[silsor]

In any case, the easiest way to change the wall (or any) character is '~' for knowledge, then choose 'e' feature knowledge, choose the terrain feature you want to change, and then 'v' for visuals. You will then get a way of choosing; it is version dependent, but I'd advise having a play with it and seeing if it makes sense. One small trick - there are three different types of lighting for terrain, and you will need to change them all.

I'm trying this, but not seeing it. (V 3.4.1, Cocoa)
Going in to "v" for visuals only offers a choice of fruity colours for the #, and the "cycle lighting" does nothing, so far as I can tell.

[Nick]

I'm trying this, but not seeing it. (V 3.4.1, Cocoa)
Going in to "v" for visuals only offers a choice of fruity colours for the #, and the "cycle lighting" does nothing, so far as I can tell.

Yeah, I'm afraid this is highly non-obvious.

Note that on your third screen, it says at the bottom 'i to insert'. You need to hit 'i', and you will be prompted for up to 5 hex digits. Now, enter 2591 (I'm not making this up). You should now have a solid block for one of the three lighting states; hit 'l' and do the same again, and then again, to get all solid blocks.

Make sure you save these to a pref file (as I describe upthread); in fact, I'd be inclined to save it to 2 or 3 to make sure

Sorry this process is not simpler; it is, however a step forward to have solid blocks on the Mac at all.

[Derakon]

Sorry this process is not simpler; it is, however a step forward to have solid blocks on the Mac at all.

Is it? Is it really?

(Just kidding )

[Timo Pietilä]

I'm trying this, but not seeing it. (V 3.4.1, Cocoa)
Going in to "v" for visuals only offers a choice of fruity colours for the #, and the "cycle lighting" does nothing, so far as I can tell.

It does, but you don't get any visual glues about it. Each press changes the visual stage and after third you go back to one.

Visual stages are "not visible", "within sight" and "within light radius". Don't ask me which is which of the three choices, you need to test it.

Note that once you have done those you still need to save the changes in order to be able to use it in other games, and that is not done in that same interface. You need to go to options, interact with visuals, and there dump feature.

This is one of the changes done some time ago that is left "half finished". All the functional parts for much better visual controls are there, but UI is unfinished.

[Walen]

It is non-trivial - but solid walls are the default in modern versions, providing they're supported by the terminal. So I'm kind of surprised that the OP is using a version which doesn't show them by default.

@OP: as well as telling us which version you're playing and where you downloaded it, please also tell us which display module you're using. That means telling us the exact command line you use to start the game. (If you start the game by clicking an icon, please right-click the icon, inspect its properties and tell us what the start command is.)

They say one picture is worth more than 1000 words so here is my screenshot. Top left Angband 3.3.2 for Windows - works like it always did and how I want it to. Right down Angband 3.3.2 for Linux (this version uses 1/35 symbol for walls as default but it is the same as 1/127, i.e. good ol' #).

Gentoo does not use any packet manager like other distros. Instead you emerge modules using Portage. Angband happens to be in the Portage tree so the first impulse is to just use it. If a quick solution is to grab an already compiled binary from somewhere I will try it as soon as I get some free time. Only as I said I am still relatively new to this so a "quicky" way might take me a few days. I really hope it is something trivial, like an USE flag I missed or something, though.

I run it just by typing /usr/games/bin/angband. Don't really understand what you mean by display module.

As I suspect Linux version uses a different font - notice those unrecognized two byte unicode characters right after cursor. My question is how do I make it to use the font it uses under windows. When I click View->Options I do get to choose a font for particular terminals including bold/italic variations but none of the selections has a block symbol in it.

[Derakon]

The block symbol is, I suspect, part of Windows' "extended ASCII", which is a nonstandard selection of symbols that Windows decided to add to the original ASCII character set; other OSes are unlikely to have them. However, Unicode fonts may have similar symbols.

[Mikko Lehtinen]

The walls were solid blocks on my Debian Wheezy last I tried to build it from source. Debian supports unicode out of the box, but Gentoo might not. The font needs to support the used characters too.

[Mikko Lehtinen]

Whoops, sorry. I recalled my NPPAngband experience from a week ago. NPP has solid blocks. I just installed the Angband from the Debian repository and it has hashes by default.